32 



nights unless you are in a thieving district, in which case it 

 is advisable to lock it. However, thieves who are very anxious 

 to get hens may carry shears and cut the wire. The droppings 

 board can be cleaned daily, every other day, twice a week or 

 once a week, but during the fly season it should be cleaned at 

 least twice a week in order to keep the flies from breeding. 

 The ventilator in the rear of the building should be opened only 

 during the warmest weather, at other times it should be kept 

 closed to avoid draughts. Be sure during the winter months 

 that this opening is closed tightly. If necessary, a small piece 

 of paper can be tacked over it on the inside. It is well to keep 

 the dust brushed off the various pieces of equipment in the 

 house. 



Care of Poultry Manure. 



As poultry droppings are very valuable fertilizer, special pains 

 should be taken to preserve them. For best results the drop- 

 pings should be removed daily and placed in a barrel or box, at 

 which time a little loam, road dust, sawdust or acid phosphate, 

 or any combination of these, can be sprinkled over them. The 

 main thing is to use something that will absorb the moisture 

 and prevent the escape of nitrogen. Do not use wood ashes or 

 lime for this purpose, as a chemical combination will be formed 

 which will result in the loss of most of the nitrogen. Some 

 "poultrymen sprinkle chemicals or loam over the droppings 

 board after the droppings have been removed, but this method 

 is not desirable because hens do a great deal of "wing flapping 

 in the morning before coming from the roosts, which blow^s 

 most of the chemicals and loam from the droppings board and 

 they are lost in the litter. Again, this literally covers the inside 

 of the poultry house with dust. If well preserved, the drop- 

 pings are worth 30 to 40 cents per hen annually, so it pays to 

 take care of them. If you have a garden the droppings can be 

 spread on it during the entire year when taken from the drop- 

 pings board, or they can be spread during the summer months 

 and stored in winter. 



Yard Management. 



About the only attention that is given the poultry yard 

 during the winter months is to keep the snow shoveled away 

 from the south side. Enough should be removed to allow the 



